Monday, July 11, 2016

CDT in Glacier: Oldman Lake

A three night backpacking trip with Renee along the Continental Divide Trail in Glacier National Park.

Among the many reasons I love hiking with Renee is that we share a passion for maps.

In preparation for Renee’s first trip in grizzly country, we went over proper use of bear spray the night before with some demo practice spray. Hands-on demos are best for figuring out how close bears need to be before using the spray and how the spray acts in wind. Learning how to put the safety cap on and off, and seeing just how easy it is for the spray to go off unintentionally, helps prevent accidentally spraying oneself or one’s hiking buddy.

Grizzly habitat.

During our four days, we completed five mountain goat and two loon surveys for Glacier National Park's Citizen Science Program. Renee used her hiking umbrella so she could look for mountain goats into the sun using the spotting scope and stay cool for the hour-long survey.

More uses for the umbrella.

Our first survey yielded no goats, but a few miles down the trail, I spotted four goats way up on the hillside.

A sheep moth visits us as we are conducting our bighorn sheep and mountain goat survey.

I wasn’t sure if there would be trees for my hammock on this trip. In Glacier, you have to camp within the designated sites. Renee was generous in bringing both her tents so I could try them out.

Two tents, no hammock

Sleeping on the ground was awkward at first but it was enjoyable working on my ground-dwelling skills. In the middle of the night, a powerful storm rolled through, but I stayed dry.

Using Renee's technique of using an umbrella inside the tent for protection from horizontal rain.

Oldman Lake was one of the prettiest campsites I've been to in Glacier. Though perhaps that is something that I say at every campsite.

Oldman Lake

Route:
From the Two Medicine North Shore Trailhead, the Pitamakan Pass Trail climbs 6.4 miles to Oldman Lake Campground. Backcountry permits are required.